Towel cabinet



June 3, 193o. H, w, CRGWSON 1,761,071

TowEL CABINET Filed June al1, 1927 s sheets-sheet v1 iglfif I .a7 ab'INVENTOR.

' f BY 12 LM` 55" ms ATTORNEY June 3, 1930.

H. w. cRowsoN TOWEL CABINET Filed June 24. 1927 :s

Sheets-Sheet 2 HisiTToRA/EY June 3, 1930. H. w. cRowsoN TOWEL CABINETFiled June 24, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 H S ATTORNEY Patented June 3, 1930'UN1TED -sTATEs minnaar w. cnowsoN, or NEW Yonx, N. Y., assTeNon'zroruLLcLnaN NANUTACTUBJ PATENT -oI-*Flclaz-i ING CORPORATION, OFBBIDGEPOT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OIE' DELAWARE Town. caBiNE'rappumion mea :une A24, 1927. seriaiN. 261,192.

This invention relates to towel cabinets of the type in which'aconsiderable length of towelling, usually in the form of a roll, 1s suported within the cabinet and adapted to e drawn therefrom in relativelyshort lengths as required' for individual use. .In the use of thesecabinets, however, there is a tendency on the'part of the users to drawolf more towelling -for each individual use than 1s really required andin this way add-unnecessarilyto the expense of maintaining the cab 1-net. With this in mind, it has been the mam object of my presentinventionto provide these cabinets with a simple and eicient means' forso controlling the delivery of the towelling, that it will be drawn ormeasured oi only in lengths of predeterminedv size which, for hand orface drying purposes, will be relatively short. This obJect I attain bythe novel construction and arran ement of parts hereinafter describedand as illustrated in the accompanyin drawings.

Other objects an vention will appear and be referred to inthe detaileddescription of the invention which follows. Y

Referring now to the accompanying draw'- ig. 1 1s a front elevation of acablnet equipped with my `invention, with part of` the cabinet proper orcasing broken away for the better illustration of the contained towelcontrolling mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. n

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectlon on the line 4 4 of Fi 1.

Figgs. 5, 6 and 7 are enlarged details showing the roller for measuringot the towelling in predetermined lengths and its cooperating stopdevice, at different times during operation of the same.

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are enlar ed views, in front elevation and section, opart of the measuring roller stop device, and a cooperating latchingmeans, illustrating the operation of the latter in effecting itsengagement with and release from the stop devlce, and

advantages of the in Figs. 11, 12 and 13 are corresponding top planviews, respectively, of the same.

The cabinet roper or casin which may bev of any suita le or desiredesigmis here shown as com rising a b ody portion 1, having a hinged oor2 at the front side thereof, through which access may bev'convenientlyhad to the interior ofthe casing for the purpose of placing cleantowelling therein, removing soiled towelling therefrom, or for anjyAother desiredp urpose.

ocated within the casing adjacent opposite ends thereof are' a pair offrame brackets 5, 5which are secured in position b fastening bolts 6.These brackets provide supports for a plurality of parts to be presentlydescribed which, function to control the delivery of the clean towellingfrom the cabinet and the return of the soiled towelling therein. Withinthe upper part of the casing is a suitable towel support, here shown ascom- .A

prising a pair of plates 7, 7, which are pivotally mounted at theirfront ends on a rod 8 carried by arms 8, 8', fixed tothe end brackets,and at their rear ends rest against the adjacent wall of the casing, theplates intermediate-of their ends having a concaved form to provide atrough-like structure or shelf in which the roll of clean towelling,indicated at t,^may be loosely supported. The purpose of this particularform of towel support will be hereinafter explained.

When a roll of towelling' is placed in its support, the leading end ofthe towelling is led from the roll forwardly over the rod 8, thencebackwardly and around a roller 10, and from this forwardly again throughan opening 11 in the front wallof the casing to and over a guide roller12, which lat-4 ter is journaled in extensions of the frame tween whichthe towel is passed and about one of which the towel is re-wound.

In the use of the cabinet, the user grasps vthe loop portion Z of thetowel and' pulls the same downwardly over the guide roller 12, whichpulling action serves to rotate the roller 10, located intermediate ofsaid guide roller and the towel support, by reason of the frictionalengagement of the towelling therewith. As a means for controlling thedelivery of the towelling from the cabinet, I provide this intermediateroller 10 with an abutment, here shown in the form of a pin 15 locatedat one end thereof adjacent its peripheral edge, which abutment, at eachcomplete rotation of the roller, is adapted to be brought intoengagement with a suitable stop device to thereby stop the furtherrotation of the roller and at the same time stop the further delivery ofthe towelling; the frictional engagement between the roller and thetowelling being such as to pi ercnt any substantial slippage or relativemovenient between the same. In this way, a length of towelling will bedelivered or measured off at each rotation of the rollei which willsubstantially correspond to the circumference of the roller, and bysubstituting rollers of different diameters the length of towellingdelivered or measured off may be varied correspondingly.

The stop device for limiting or stopping rotation of the roller 10 asdescribed, is. here shown as comprising a pair of end members, 20, 20,pivotally connected at their rear end; with a cross rod 9 carried by theframe brackets and at their front ends extending slightly forward of theroller 10 at opposite ends of the latter and there connected by acrossbar 21 which is adapted to engage with the towelling at the underside thereof at a point between the roller 10 and the guide roller 12.Formed or located on the under side of one of the side members 20 is adetent 22 adapted for stopping engagement with the roller abutment 15.This detent however is normally held in a position above the path ofmovement of the roller abutment by means of springs 25, 25 engaging withthe under side of pins or projections 26 on the end members 20, 20, ofthe stop device. When the detent 22 is thus held in its normal raisedposition, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the towel engaging bar 2l at thefront end of the members 20, 20, is in a position to deflect the engagedtowelling upwardly from its normal path of movement between the roller10 and guide roller 12, whereby, when the user pulls upon the towellinghanging from the roller 12 this acts to depress the bar 21 and connectedmember 20 and thereby lowers the detent 22 into operative position inthe path of movement of the roller abutment 15, as shown in Fig. 6,' toengage the same and stop the roller 10 upon the completion of its nextagain lowered into stopping engagementwitli the roller abutment 15 andso prevent rotation of the roller and consequent further delivery of thetowelling if such parts were not first moved out of registry with eachother. Therefore, in order to effect this, the end members 2() have asliding connection with their pivot support 9, through the medium ofelongated slots 30 therein, wherebv, when the roller abutment 15 comesinto coiltact with the stop detent 22, as shown in Fig.

6, a final pull on the towelling and a consequent further rotation ofthe roller will cause a backward movement of the members 20 on the pivotrod 9, as from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 7,whereafter, upon the release of the stop deyice by the towelling orother holding means, it. will be operated by the springs 25 to firstdisengage the detent 22 from the roller abutment 15 and then be returnedby a forward movement to its normal position, as shown in Fig. 5, withits detent 22 slightly forward of and out of registry with the rollerabutment. With the parts so positioned, when the stop device is againlowered upon the next pull on the towelling, the roller abutment 15 willbe back of the stop detent 22 and free to permit of another rotation ofthe roller. The described horizontal movement of the members 20 underthe influence of the springs 25 is effected through the frictionalengagement of the pins 26 with said springs, which is sufiicient tocause a slight distension of the front ends of the engaged springs uponthe backward movement of the members 20, whereby, upon the release ofthe towelling by the user, the recoil of the springs will return themembers 20 to their normal position as described.

In the use of the hereinbefore described means for controlling thedelivery of towelling from the cabinet by measuring the same off inpredetermined lengths, it has been found that there is a tendency on thepart of users to draw off in successive lengths more towelling than maybe actually req uired, this being readily accomplished by simply pullingout a length as measured ofll by one rotation of the roller 10, andthen, after simply loosening up on the towelling to permit of therele-ase of the stop detent from the roller abutment, pulling ofi'another length of towelling; these successive withdrawals beinlaccomplished without the necessity of t e'user remov1ng his or hergrasp on the towelling. It has therefore been a further object of myinvention to provide means for rendering it necessary that a user shallrelease his grasp on the towel at each withdrawal of a measured lengthof towelling, in order to more electually break the continuityof thetowel deliveryropera-l tions and in this way have a tendency to limitthe withdrawals to only the amounts required. In carrying this part ofmy invention into effect, I provide an automatically acting latch thatwill engage the stop device when in its lowered operative position andhold the same in such position with the roller locked againstmovementfor the delivery of more towelling, until the latch.A has beenreleased by the user by an operation requiring the use of one of theusers hands; in this way causing the user to release h1s grasp on thetowel and so causing a break or interruption in the withdrawal of thetowelllng which will ordinarily be sufficient to stop furtherwithdrawals until actually required.

Such a latching means as here shown comprises a lever 35 pivoted at 36to a su porting block 37 attached to the inner wall o the casing door 2;this lever at its lower end pro'- jecting through anopening in the casmgto provide an operating handle at the exterior of the easing, as at 38,and at its upper end provided with a lateral extension 39 for latchingengagement with a latch member 4.0 attached to one of the end members 20of the stop device. The latch member 40 has a cutout 41 in one edgethereof registering with the latch 39 whereby, when the stop device islowered by the pulling action of the towelling, such cut-out will permitof the lowering of the member 40 to a position below the plane of thelatch 39 in order that said memier. upon the described backward movementoi" the stop device transversely of its axis u nder thefinal pull of thetowelling, will move into a position beneath and in latching engagementwith the latch 39, as shown in Figs. 1, 2. 8 and 11. When the stopdevice is thus latched in its lowered operative position, it will ofcourse be necessary for the user to release his grasp on the towel tooperate the latch to release the stop device, as shown in Figs. 9 and12.

As a means for rendering the latch releasing operation of a characterrequiring more definite attention on the part of the user than thatrequired with the use of the single latch 3S), and so more efi'eetuallyinterrupt the towel delivery operation, I have provided a second latchmember in the form of a lever 50 pivoted to one wall of the supportingblock 3T at 51, with its lower end bifnrcated for engagement with a pin52 on one side of the first latch lever, as at 53, and with its upperend extended slightly above the latch extension 39 of said first leverand provided with a similar extension 54. With this combination andarrangement of parts, the -movement of the first latch device 39 toreleasing position, as shown in Figs. 9 and 12, will act to throw thesecond latch device 54 into latching engagement with the latch member 40of the sto lease o the lever 38 by the user and the return of same toits normal position under the action of a sprin 55, in order tocompletely' release the stop evice, as shown in Figs. 10 and 13.

In the measuring off of the towelling through the medium of the roller10 as described, it is necessary that the frietional engagement betweenthe towelling and said roller be sufficient to avoid any substantialdevice; thus necessitating the reslippage between the same." This iseected in part by providing the roller with a sanded surface (notshown). In o rder however to increase such frictional engagement, I havepivotally mounted the towel supporting plates 7, 7, at their frontendson `the rod 8, as hereinbefore described, and arranged the samewhereby they will extend to a position opposite the roller 10 and bearagainst the towelling passing thereover with sufficient e pressure tomaintain the desired frictional engagement of the towelling with saidroller; the plate 7 being yieldingly held to such position by means ofsprings 60 connecting at one end with the plates and at their oppositeends anchored to the rod 9, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

What I claim is 1. In a towel cabinet, a towel measuring de-l andthereafter impart a further movement v to the same to bring it out ofregistry with said abutment.

2. In a towel cabinet, a towel measuring device comprisin a stop roller`having an abutment, said rol er engaging with the towel and beingrotated thereby during its withdrawal, a pivoted stop device having adetent rigid therewith and being engaged and oper ated by the towelduring withdrawal to bring its said detent into position for stoppingengagement with the roller abutment, said stop device being slidablymounted for movement transversely of its axis, and a spring operative todisengage the stop device detent from the roller abutment followingrelease of the device by the towel and thereafter impart a furthermovement to the same to bring it out o f registry with said abutment.

3. In a towel cabinet, a towel measuring device comprising a stop rollerhaving an abutment, said/roller engaging with the towel and beingrotated thereby during its withdrawal, a pivoted'stop device engaged andoperated by the towel during its withdrawal to be moved thereby intoposition for stopping engagement with the roller abutment,

' said-stop device being slidably mounted for movement transversely ofits axis, and a spring yieldingly holding the stop device in normalposition and permitting of a movement of said device in one directionunder the impact therewith of the roller abutment and thereafterdisengaging it from said abutment and moving it in the oppositedirection out of registry with Vthe latter.

4. In a towel cabinet, a towel measuring device, comprising a stoproller having an abutment, said roller engaging'with the towel and beingrotated thereby during its withdrawal, a towel supporting shelfpositioned adjacent the roller and bearing on the towel in its passageover the latter and holding it in frictional engagement therewith, and astop device engaged and operated by the towel during its withdrawal tobemoved thereb into position for stopping engagement wit the rollerabutment.

5. In a. towelD cabinet, a towel measuring device comprising a stoproller having an abutment, said roller engaging with the towel and beingrotated thereby duringits withdrawal, a stop device engaged and operatedby the towel during its withdrawal, whereby i said stop device will bemoted by the pull of the towel into position for stopping engagementwith the roller abutment, a latch device holding the stop device whenbrought to its roller stopping position, and a second latch deviceoperatively connected with the first one for movement in oppositionthereto whereby the second one will engage the latch member upon therelease of the lirst one therefrom.

6. In a towel cabinet, a towel measuring device comprising a. stoproller having an abutment, said roller engaging with the towel and beingrotated thereby during its withdrawal, a stop device engaged andoperated by the towel during its withdrawal to be moved thereby intoposition for stopping engagement with the roller abutment, a pivotedlatch device holding the stop device when brought to its roller stoppingposition, and a second pivoted latch device having a pivotal connectionwith the first one for movement thereby in a direction in oppositionthereto whereby the second one will engage the latch member upon therelease -o the first one therefrom.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HERBERT W. CROWSON.

